Emmer is a former state representative, who came close to beating Mark Dayton in the 2010 governor’s race. While he will face two other Republicans, Phil Krinkie and Rhonda Sivarajah in a primary, Emmer did get the endorsement of Congresswoman Bachmann, which gives him a strong advantage in the strongly conservative 6th District.

As for Bachmann, the big question is, what will she do after she retires from Congress in January?

In her nearly eight years in Congress, Bachmann has risen to the status of Conservative icon — a founder of the Tea Party, for a brief time she was even the frontrunner in the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination. But her presidential campaign fizzled and it later became the focus of an investigation into campaign finance violations.

She said she will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

Later in 2012, she barely won reelection to her House seat in an overwhelmingly Republican district. But for the conservatives, those bumps don’t diminish her star status.

At a tribute dinner in Monticello this weekend, conservative icons and celebrities including Jon Voigt, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity appeared in a video hailing her leadership and asking her to remain on the national stage.

So what exactly is Bachmann going to do next? I asked her when she appeared on WCCO Sunday Morning.

“I am not going anywhere. I am going to continue to remain involved on the nation stage because the issues are so consequential and I will be involved in shaping the debate. I will be involved in a number of different areas, whether it’s individual campaigns or just speaking nationally. I intend to do a lot of speaking and I intend to be involved in media, as well,” she said.

Bachmann did say she is not planning another run for president and has not yet decided who she might endorse. She also has another eight months before she leaves her seat in Congress.

You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Matt Brickman every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.